A Scorpion's Sting
by Forever-Tangled
Summary: AU where Scorpion investigates a fourteen year old con artist name Hiro Hamada; the case gets a whole lot messier when his only living relative, Tadashi, is murdered during a college expo. Terrible at summaries; rated T for violence. Disclaimer: I don't own Scorpion or Big Hero 6.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This AU is meant to be in the actual world, not half-cartoon, half-realistic. This is also an idea where Aunt Cass is not part of the picture and Tadashi was left to care for Hiro after their parents' deaths. And of course, we've got the amazing team of Scorpion in the mix as well - what's better than that?! Also, I'll be making minor tweaks to the Hamada brothers' stories to make the storyline more realistic.  
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><p>Agent Gallo strode into Scorpion's headquarters (if you could call their workshop that), pulling off his sunglasses and whistling sharply to get the group's attention. They were all gathered around a table, watching Ralph and Sylvester play some incredibly complex game; he didn't care to know what they were teaching that young kid now. But as his whistle alerted them to his presence, the team turned away and looked at him.<br>"Hey, it's Captain Grumpy," Toby announced. "Gallo, you always look _so _unhappy."  
>"Call me that one more time and I'll kick you off this team. You won't like not getting your pay," Gallo sharply informed the cocky psychologist.<br>"You're only proving my point," Toby grumbled, and Happy elbowed him, shooting him a warning glance.  
>"What do you have for us, Gallo?" Walter O'Brien strode over, hands in his pockets and waiting for the man's instructions.<p>

Gallo shoved the bolts, nuts, and dominoes off of the table that the team had previously been gathered around, and then spread a sheaf of papers out. "You might not take this very seriously, but we've got a first-class con artist to track down. Meet Hiro Hamada," he tapped the photo of the crazy-haired child.  
>"He's just a kid. Fourteen," Toby said. "How can a fourteen year old be a con artist? He'd be too busy trying to impress the girls."<br>"Maybe that's what you did when you were a kid, but look. He graduated high school when he was just thirteen. He's got to have a fairly high IQ," Walter pointed out.  
>Gallo nodded. "That's why we brought this to you. He was tested at the age of seven and has an IQ of 167. Apparently, instead of going to college, he's turned to scamming people and using handmade robotic devices to fight in alleys at night. That's illegal, as you might now."<br>"Bot fights," Walter nodded. "It's a fairly new trend. Get a good enough design for a little robot and you'll win big bucks."  
>"Walter, can you show me how to make the robots?" Ralph piped up.<br>Paige set a hand on her son's head. "I think it's time I get you off to school, buddy. I'll be back, guys."  
>Gallo nodded, and the team watched as the woman led her son outside. "Well, this kid's gone a little too far with his bot fighting. He's using the bot designs of a professor at San Francisco Technical Institute and making his own. While he's not selling them yet, it's a violation and he needs to be shut down before he gets into too much trouble being a little con-artist." Gallo said.<br>"Where are his parents during all this? A fourteen year old kid roaming the streets at night, entering in bot fights and coming home with armloads of cash...Who wouldn't notice that?" Toby asked. "I'll have to visit the parents, get an idea of if he's going through anything such as bullying or abuse, or if he's getting enough stimulation at home for his big brain. We all know that can get you in trouble if you don't."  
>Walter nodded, but Gallo shook his head. "The kid's an orphan. His legal guardian and only living relative is his twenty-three year old brother, Tadashi Hamada. He's a student at the Tech Institute and also cares for his brother."<p>

Walter rubbed the back of his neck. "Okay, so we've got to look at his brother as a possible accomplice. If he's in the same school that that professor works in, he could've swiped the blueprints and helped his brother out. Maybe he's even putting him up to it. What's the brother's IQ?"  
>"He's never taken an IQ exam," Gallo flipped through some more pages and looked up. "But we may be able to track Hiro down and bring him in for questioning and a psych evaluation. He's supposedly entered into professor Callaghan's admission competition - whoever comes up with a brilliant invention wins a scholarship and is enrolled into SFTI. Who knows what the kid's doing, entering in the competition for a scholarship at the same college the professor works in. We'll have to find him there and bring him in."<p>

* * *

><p>"This place is amazing," Sylvester stared with wide eyes at an invention that caught his eye. "If this place had been around when I was a kid, I would've definitely attended."<br>Another voice filled the air. The students participating in the admission competition had been taking the stage all evening, but it seemed as though the team had arrived just in time. "H-hello. I'm Hiro...Hiro Hamada, and...this is my invention."  
>"That voice sounds anything but calm. He's nervous, which means that this kid isn't the best con artist in the world. He may have won a lot of bot fights by getting into the beginner's categories for some easy cash, and he might have stolen blueprints for the bots from Callaghan, but he definitely has yet to learn how to mask his emotions," Toby said.<br>"Enough shrink jabber and let's get over there. We need to catch him as soon as he gets off the stage, before we lose him in the crowd," Happy said. They headed quietly for the center stage, and watched as the young genius showed off his 'invention'. He had grown increasingly more confident. The crowd ooh-ed and ahh-ed and gasped at the daring stunts he performed with his invention: microbots, which were created to stick together to create anything you could think of; all of this was done using telepathy.  
>"Are you sure we have to take this kid in? I'm starting to like him," Happy grinned. "He's a smart kid. Could use some robotics prodigies like him in this world."<br>"He has a legitimate death wish, though," Sylvester cringed as the boy plummeted towards the stage floor, only to be saved by a net of his microbots.  
>And then <em>poof - <em>the microbots covered Hiro from head to toe and when they seemingly fell off of him, the boy was gone.  
>"They can turn into some epic camouflage, too," his voice rang out, and then the microbots fell away from him for real this time. "And this is my invention."<p>

He stepped off of the stage and Gallo moved towards him, pulling his badge out and holding it up.  
>"Don't-" Walter yelled at Gallo, but it was too late. Hiro's eyes doubled in size and he bolted out of the expo hall. Audiences gasped in surprise as the team pushed through after the kid. Walter shoved Gallo to the side as soon as he caught up to him. "You let us handle him, alright? You don't show an illegal bot-fighter an FBI badge!" Before Gallo could throw anything back into the genius's face, he was gone, racing off after the kid.<br>"Hiro!" Happy yelled as she and Toby barreled down a back alley after the kid, who had pulled his blue hoodie up to conceal him. "We aren't going to arrest you, we just want to ask you some questions!"  
>"Don't say that!" Toby slowed and stared at the woman. "Do you think some fourteen year old wants to answer the FBI's questions when he's probably wanted for bot fighting?"<br>"He's not wanted," Happy threw back, "so he doesn't have an excuse." They watched as Walter passed them, and turned to see that Sylvester was trailing after him, wheezing and yelling something about how he preferred the indoor environment with the techy nerds over this chase. This _unsanitary _chase which led them into alleys with vomit, trash, and dirt and who-knows-what-else.

Hiro was terrified. He couldn't go to jail; and what did the FBI want with him, anyway? He knew full-well that bot-fighting was illegal, but it wasn't enough to send an entire group of FBI agents after him, was it? He looked back to see the tall, scariest one nearing him...and then tripped over his own feet, slamming face-first onto the hard, unforgiving asphalt.  
>He rolled onto his back, trying to get his spinning head to slow down. His eyesight was blurred and duplicated for a few moments, but then he focused on the tall menace approaching him. The man actually slowed and knelt by the boy.<br>"Wall," Walter said.  
>"I get that," Hiro sat up and rubbed his head grumpily. "But it's your fault. Where's Tadashi?"<br>"Tadashi's here?" Walter asked.  
>"He's at SFTI. I thought he'd follow me after you guys chased me out," he grumbled. "What do you want from me, anyway?"<br>"We just have to ask you a few questions about your bots. About the fact that you're using Callaghan's designs to create your own," Walter clarified. "Just a few questions at our headquarters and you'll be free to go unless something comes up."  
>Hiro nodded begrudgingly, but took the man's hand and stood stiffly. "Ow."<br>"We'll have Toby check you out, make sure that big brain of yours didn't get messed up when you slammed into the asphalt," Walter explained.  
>"My brain's bigger than what you think," Hiro grumbled, "and this FBI thing is just wasting my time."<br>"You have an IQ of 167. I have an IQ of 197 and hacked NASA when I was little," Walter said. "Happy, Toby, and Sylvester are all geniuses. Our friend Paige, she's normal, but her kid Ralph is special too. I'm fairly certain this FBI thing isn't wasting your time, and you'll be talking with us."  
>Hiro gawked at him. "Okay. Can you show me some cool robotics stuff while we're at it? Maybe some coding or-"<br>Walter laughed as they approached SFTI's entrance. "I don't know."

Then, an immense explosion rocked the ground underneath them. The team, as well as Hiro, were thrown backwards as shards of glass and debris scattered in their direction. Walter threw himself over Hiro to protect him from the glass, grimacing when some shards sliced through his purple dress shirt.  
>When they recovered from the initial shock, Hiro squirmed away, jumping up and staring at the mess of a building for a moment before screaming.<br>"Tadashi! Tadashi!" he cried, his voice cracking as he inhaled a lungful of smoke. Choking, he covered his nose and started to dash for the building.  
>"Kid!" Happy ran after him and grabbed his arm roughly. "Don't be stupid! You and I both know that's a death trap!" She pulled him back towards where the rest of the team stood in shock, watching people streaming away from the building as they screamed and cried. Toby immediately got to work aiding the injured and Gallo called an ambulance. "But - Tadashi," he cried. "He's the only family I have left!"<br>Gallo caught the team's attention and yelled above the chaos. "This case just got a whole lot bigger. Take Hiro to the headquarters and keep him there!"


	2. Chapter 2

"You can't keep me here. You're supposed to be smart, aren't you?" Hiro sat moodily in a seat. They were now back at Scorpion's headquarters.  
>"Actually, we can. We help the FBI, so we can keep you here as long as we like - plus, we're debating whether or not to put you under protective custody," Walter said, standing in front of him with his hands in his pockets.<br>"Yeah? What then?"  
>"You'll be in the system, unless you have any living relatives." Gallo piped up.<br>"Even more reason for me to leave _now_!" Hiro yelled. His heart was thundering, and he wanted nothing more to escape to the nearest alley so he could curl up in a ball and sob his little heart out. He'd just lost his brother, for Pete's sake! "I can't believe you freaks."  
>"You listen, kid-" Gallo started towards Hiro, planning on telling the little snob off and bump him down a little on the totem pole, but Toby rushed over and snagged his suit sleeve.<br>"I know you want to tell him off, Gallo, but you gotta give him a break. He's just lost his last remaining relative and he's confused and scared. Walk it off." Toby mumbled, staring Gallo down. He finally pushed Toby's hand off of his sleeve and strode off. "A minute with Hiro, guys? Please?"  
>Walter nodded and jerked his head towards the rest of the team, signaling for them to follow him upstairs, including Paige and Ralph.<p>

Toby grabbed a chair and swung it around backwards, straddling it and crossing his arms over the top of it. "So, Hiro Hamada, robotics prodigy. Right?"  
>"Yeah." he stuffed his hands into his hoodie pockets and shrugged his shoulders up to his big ears.<br>"I'm Toby, psychologist. I think you and I need to have a chat, huh?"  
>"Oh! Yeah. A stupid shrink will solve <em>alllll <em>my problems!" Hiro flashed a fake grin and then scowled at Toby.  
>"I won't solve all your problems. I don't <em>want<em> to solve all your problems. I do, however, want to help you. I know, I know, it's cliche and you'll think it's _stupid_, but I do. So I want you to tell me one thing, buddy. One little bitty thing and I'll let you off the hook for the night."  
>"Yeah? Shoot," Hiro crossed his arms.<br>"Tell me if I'm right. You're putting on a facade of anger, you don't want to let us know how you really feel. But beneath your cold exterior, you're really just a scared little kid that wants his brother, or his parents, _anyone_. You don't know why you were brought in by the FBI, but you're pretty sure it has something to do with bot fighting. And you're also planning on escaping as soon as you possibly can. Am I right?"  
>Hiro gave him a wide-eyed stare for a moment. How did this shrink know? He'd had psychologists before. When he took his IQ test, he'd dealt with them, and when his parents had been killed in a car crash when he was little, he'd attended guidance counseling sessions with Tadashi, which were mandatory and had been paid for by his school. But this guy was different. Of course, he wasn't about to let <em>Toby <em>know that, so he shook his head. "Far off the mark, dude."  
>"I don't think so," Toby shook his head. "All your body language points to this gigantic sign that says <em>I'm lying. <em>I think I nailed it. Hiro, you can trust us. You know Paige's little kid, Ralph? He's only seven, and he's bright like you. It's not easy to get him to warm up to you, and he doesn't let just anyone in, either. Since he trusts all of us, and especially Walter, I'd take that as a good sign that we won't hurt you or screw you over. Got it?"  
>"Yeah, well...little kids are gullible. I have street smarts."<br>"_Normal _little kids. Ralph's a genius. I bet he acts just like you did when you were seven." Toby crossed his arms and sat back in his chair, so sure of himself that he momentarily forgot that he didn't have the back of the chair to lean up against. Scooting awkwardly forward, he tried to mask the fact that he'd almost fallen backwards.  
>Hiro screwed his mouth off to one side and stared pensively at Toby. "Either way, I'm stuck with you guys. Right?" "You got it, kiddo. You'll be staying with us. The good thing? We have junk food. I bet you're hungry, right?"<br>He shrugged, and Toby stood up. "If you're gonna put me away for bot fighting, then fine. If you think I care, I don't. Not anymore."  
>"Not since your brother's dead, right?"<br>He clenched his jaw and swiveled the chair around, turning his back to Toby.

Trotting up the steps, Toby met up with the rest of the team upstairs.  
>"He's going to be a tough nut to crack, but he knows he's stuck with us. He's not arrogant and hateful, he's scared and upset. His facade fades pretty quickly. Walter, I can guarantee you'll be able to get him to open up to you. Paige, why don't you talk to him? You're a mother, and none of us know how to deal with emotionally unstable fourteen year olds." Toby said. "Happy, if you get him involved in some mechanics stuff, I bet he'll get more comfortable with us and open up, too. But we're gonna have to keep a close eye on him. The kid knows he's an orphan, and that isn't the most pleasant feeling in the universe." Paige stood up and nodded. "I'll go talk with him. Why don't you go play dominoes with Sylvester, Ralph? I'm going to go talk with the boy that's downstairs. Okay?"<br>Ralph nodded, not bothering to look up from his video game.

The team filed back downstairs, and Paige made her way over to Hiro. "Hey, bud. Rough day, huh?"  
>He snorted. "What, are you a shrink too?"<br>"No..I'm what they call 'normal'. I talk to people when nobody else can get to them. You know what I mean? I help the geniuses understand the normal society."  
>"Yeah. Well, I'm not normal, <em>so<em>-"  
>"But you're a genius kid who's experiencing normal emotions, some you might not be able to handle well. You can trust these guys. They'll help you, and they don't want to hurt you. All they're doing is wanting to ask you about your scams and recreating copyrighted work. From there.." she trailed off. "We'll maybe do a DNA test to make sure you don't have any living relatives, and work from there."<br>"Wait. Recreating copyrighted work?" Hiro sat up in his chair and asked.  
>She nodded. "Yeah - your bots? They're similar to Callaghan's bot designs."<br>"And how do you suppose I got the blueprints?"  
>"Any number of ways, Hiro. I'm not accusing you of anything, and I don't think you stole blueprints or anything, but that's what I understand from what Gallo told me earlier. I'm just letting you know what you were brought in here for. Okay? Don't panic. I'm sure it's a misunderstanding, because I don't think you're stupid enough to steal blueprints when you could make your own design." Paige rested a hand on Hiro's shoulder to try to calm him, but he shrugged it off.<br>"Okay, something's off. I didn't even know Callaghan until I applied for his college. How did I even know to steal his work?"

Paige rubbed her forehead. "Hiro, Walter has all of the information. He'll talk to you about it, and this will be cleared up. Don't fret about it until tomorrow."  
>Hiro <em>wanted <em>to fret about it. He could be locked up for something he didn't even do! And obsessing over that helped him forget about Tadashi, which was a plus. How could a kid steal blueprints he didn't even know existed?


	3. Chapter 3

"What'cha up to?" Hiro propped his elbows on the metal table Happy was working at, leaning his chin on his arms and watching whatever she was doing. Something to do with a wheel.  
>"I'm fixing this wheel," she said. "Our van blew the tire out and damaged the rim a week ago, so I'm trying to straighten it out instead of having to pay out the cash for another rim."<br>"If you use this, you'll have better luck," Hiro grabbed a tool and handed it to her. She gave him a dubious glance, not sure how a fourteen year old could be smarter than her in mechanics, but took it from him. "So how long do I have to stay around this joint?"  
>"As long as necessary," Happy said absentmindedly, plopping her face shield down and meticulously soldering a bit of the rim that had cracked. Hiro watched as, just like he'd expected, she hammered out the rim back to its original shape, using the torch and some solder. She flipped the guard up and grinned at the teen. "That worked well. Good job, kid." "For that...do you think you could do me a favor?" he grinned toothily, exposing his tooth gap in what he hoped to be a charming manner.<br>"No. I don't do favors," Happy said. "You're staying right here, kid."  
>He groaned and threw his hands up. "What am I supposed to be doing, exactly? Fessing up to something I didn't do?"<p>

"No...helping us figure out _why _you were accused of doing something you didn't do." Walter stuffed his hands in his pockets and stood beside him, watching the kid's body language. He scooted away from Walter and rolled his eyes.  
>"I might be smart, but I'm not psychic and I haven't figured out telepathy. <em>Yet<em>," he smirked.  
>"Telepathy's impossible. Keep trying, kid," Toby yelled from where he sat on the computer.<br>"Yeah, whatever." Hiro shrugged and turned his attention back to Walter. "You and I both know that letting me go on the streets again would be best. I'm not helping anyone, and the system won't want me. I can take care of myself."  
>"We're going to do a blood test to make sure there's no living relatives before anything else happens. And we have to keep you here, to make sure that the fire wasn't arson. If someone wanted to kill your brother, then they'll want to kill you, too." Walter said.<br>"At this rate, the probability of the accident being arson is seventy-nine point thirty-one percent; however, most arsonists don't take into account that people are in the buildings they're trying to burn down. However, it _is _prudent to keep you safe. Plus, it's better than being in the system." Sylvester piped up.

"Well...why don't you get on the case, then?"  
>"We have to wait for our boss. He'll want to talk to you, and then we'll go from there." Walter said. "I promise, we'll figure things out."<br>Just as Walter said this, Gallo came in the building.  
>"Annnd there's Mister Tardy to the Party," Hiro exclaimed sarcastically.<br>"Don't start with me, kid," Gallo warned.  
>"Oh, I'm not <em>starting <em>with you. I've been harassing these guys since you left last night!" Hiro folded his arms, pleased with his own snark.  
>Gallo gave him a dark look, and Walter quickly stepped between them. "Listen, Hiro. Gallo helped me when I was younger, and he'll help you. But if you don't stop being such a little...sarcastic individual...he's going to either punch you square in the face or taze you. You obviously want neither of those things to happen, right? So I'd suggest compliance."<br>Hiro shrugged and narrowed his eyes, but followed Gallo wordlessly to the upstairs of Scorpion's headquarters. Toby headed up with them as well, in order to observe Hiro.

He sat down and set a bunch of blueprints out on a table. "Alright, kid. I'm going to hook you up to a polygraph machine and ask you some questions. Obviously, you're going to answer them _truthfully_. If not, I'll know, and Toby will know too." he started hooking Hiro up with wires that all connected to a machine, and then asked his first question. "Your name is Hiro Hamada. Yes or no?"  
>"Yes. Duh." Hiro snorted.<br>"Knock it off. You are fourteen years old and are a boy prodigy."  
>"Yes and yes." he was officially bored with this. How were these questions going to help with anything?<br>"Have you ever seen these blueprints?" Gallo asked.  
>Hiro's brown eyes flickered to the papers on the table. "Nope. What are they from?"<br>"Professor Callaghan's personal blueprints from the college," Gallo said. "Are you sure you have never seen these?"  
>"Yes. I am sure I've never seen them before in my life." Hiro sat back in his chair.<br>"He's telling the truth. He's relaxed - he's not on edge, sweating or letting his eyes dart back and forth," Toby said.  
>"Okay. And you were not involved in the death of your brother, Tadashi Hamada."<br>"No!" Hiro jumped up. "Why-why...why would I kill my own brother?" his voice cracked, and he wanted to slap Gallo.  
>"Calm down," he pointed to the chair.<br>"You just asked a fourteen year old if he killed his own brother, Gallo. It's a natural response to overreact to an accusation, or even the suggestion, of something like that." Toby piped up.  
>"Yeah. What the shrink said. Why would I even do that? It's illogical-"<br>"It's law for me to ask that. Covering all bases," Gallo talked over him. "Now...I'm assuming you did not set the college ablaze, either?"  
>Hiro snorted. "No."<br>"And you've never seen the blueprints. Did your brother want to see them?"  
>Hiro shook his head. "No. He's a creator and nurturer type. I'm a creator and destroyer. He was trying to invent good things, and I bot-fighting equipment. Those are bots for bot-fighting, so obviously, Tadashi was never involved in stealing blueprints like that. Plus, he's got a big enough brain that he doesn't need to use someone else's. Or...he <em>didn't.<em> Past tense." he added harshly.  
>"Okay. You invented your own bots, then?"<br>"Yes."  
>"Why were they so close in structure to Callaghan's designs?"<br>"I don't know. I'm that good, I guess," Hiro propped his feet up on the table and smirked.

"Enough of the cockiness," Gallo said. "Then why did he accuse you of stealing his blueprints?"  
>"Callaghan said I was using his designs? Whoa. How did he even know..." Hiro trailed off, but then shot out of his chair, ripping the wires off of him and racing for the door. "I know. I know who that guy was! Come on!"<br>"_What_ guy?" Toby asked, grabbing his hat and rushing after the teen.  
>"The-the guy in the alley two weeks ago! He frequents the bot-fight rings and I always beat him. He has a similar bot design, but I made some slick modifications that make mine more durable and lethal. He always wears a Kabuki mask and his street name is Yokai . I-I bet it's Callaghan! No, I can straight-up guarantee it's him! Come on, you <em>have <em>to get me back to my bots. There's a big bot-fight going down tonight. I bet he'll be there - I can be, what do you call it, bait? You guys can be waiting to take him down just around the corner and...boom, there you go! Question him!" Hiro blathered on excitedly.


	4. Chapter 4

Paige situated the earwig into Hiro's ear. "We'll talk you through it if you get into a sticky situation, okay bud?"  
>"Yeah, yeah. I've gotten out of them on my own," he shrugged.<br>"But you're going to let us help you this time. Okay?"  
>He shrugged again, grabbing his fighter bot and fiddling with the controller. Gallo gave him a few more instructions before Hiro left the black van, followed by Toby. The door flew open again, and Walter gave Toby a warning look.<br>"Toby..."  
>"What? I should be there to watch and make sure nothing goes south, and I wanna see how these things go down." he pulled a small, clunky robot from his leather coat pocket. "Plus, Happy made me a present to use tonight."<br>"It's got a camera in the face of it and will let us see all of the people involved in the bot fight." Happy explained. "It's not nearly as crappily-built as it looks, trust me."  
>"I helped build it, and can guarantee its design is infallible," Hiro puffed his chest out a bit.<br>"If you bet away your month's worth of wages, you're not getting reimbursed. Betting at these fights is illegal," Gallo warned.  
>"I won't..." he promised. When the van door shut, he pulled two fifty-dollar bills from his pocket. "This enough to get both of us in, kid? Don't tell Gallo."<br>Hiro grinned, grabbing the one bill he offered him. "Yep. And my lips are sealed."

"Welcome one and all to the fifteenth bi-monthly Yakunan Robotics Fight!" a wiry man with a bullhorn announced. "Twenty-five dollar registration fee per entry! Fighters, line up!"  
>Hiro looked around the group and stuffed the fifty into a baseball cap that was passed around, handing it to Toby. He saw a flash of a kabuki mask and cleared his throat. "Him. Yokai. Ten o'clock, Curtis." He smirked at Toby's last name.<br>"Okay," Toby mumbled, refraining from looking directly at him. Instead, he picked his robot up over the crowd, appearing to aim it towards a street light - the same light Yokai was standing by. "Hmm, this thing won't turn on. Do you see this?"  
>Happy's voice came in over Hiro's earwig, as well as Toby's. "Crystal. Yokai?"<br>"Yup. It's not turning on." he glanced at Hiro and shoved him with his elbow. "Kid, help me out."  
>Hiro caught on and figured out his play. "Dude. Just press that button right there."<br>"Oh! Okay," he nodded, pressing a button that sent a photograph to the group at the van before he pressed the on/off switch, which was wired right beside the photograph button.  
>Hiro smirked. This was pretty cool after all.<p>

The fight wore on into the early morning hours, but Toby and Hiro were both in the final running for the grand jackpot...against Yokai.  
>"We've got a spec<em>tacular<em> tie between Curtis, Hiro, and Yokai...who's going to win? It's a fight to the death, ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer boomed. "Our first round will be between Hiro and Yokai."  
>Hiro sat cross-legged, setting his robot on the pavement between him and the masked man. Yokai set his nearly identical robot down and flicked a double deck out on his controller.<br>"Heard you stole your design from a professor. Isn't that illegal?" Yokai asked him. Hiro held back a shudder as he met the man's cold gray eyes. How did he know? Only if he was Callaghan.  
>"Isn't this illegal, too? By the way, you look like you stole your design from me, so..." he shrugged. "Shall we?"<br>They fought it out; the robots dancing around the small area between the opponents in some sort of ninja-death-dance. To Hiro's surprise, the opposing robot pulled out a small sledgehammer that packed a surprising punch...and Hiro's bot was mashed into the pavement.  
>"And Hiro is disqualified!" the announcer screamed. "There's a first time for everything! Sorry, kid! Curtis, you're up!"<br>Hiro bowed to Yokai and gathered the remains of his robot. He'd disabled the rebuilding option on his robot just so Curtis could do this. He'd turn it on later and let his robot rebuild itself.

Toby sat down. "I'm kinda...new at this, so...heh." he shrugged his shoulders up nervously, despite the fact that he'd beat almost every single person at the match. Yokai in turn jerked his chin up, and obvious sign of aggression.  
>"Then let's get this over with, eh?" he punched buttons on his controller, and the robot tottered forward. Toby started fumbling over his controller, giving Yokai the upper hand until the last possible moment. At that point, he pressed an 'X' on the controller, and his fighter bot went berserk. Pulling out a miniature ball-and-chain, it wrapped it around the other robot's head, clenching the chain until it crushed the head. Next, it sliced through the robot with a tiny saw repeatedly, disabling it.<br>"Okay, that...that...I think my buttons aren't working right, I didn't know it could even _do _that..." Toby stared with horror at the scene in front of him, trying to sell it. "But...I guess all's fair in love and war, right?"  
>"You're no dummy," Yokai growled. "You knew <em>full well<em>!"  
>"No, I-I...didn't, actually," Toby mumbled, standing up and putting his hands up.<br>"Scams and con artists aren't welcome here, you know that, right? Even an idiot could figure that out," Yokai stood and got in Toby's face. "Got it? So if you're a con artist, scram. Nobody messes with Yokai."  
>"Actually...someone is about to." Toby grinned, pulling the kabuki mask off of him in one swift tug. It revealed Professor Callaghan's face, just as expected.<br>Gasps surrounded them, and a few people scattered. The announcer, shaking, threw the bag of winnings towards Toby and ran.  
>Yokai - or Callaghan - was seething. He lunged for Toby, but Toby stepped around him, grabbing Hiro by the hoodie and yanking him along. "Run, kid! Run! Get to the van!"<p>

They dove into the van and locked it. "Floor it," Toby yelled, panting and pounding the back of the driver's seat to get Gallo's attention.  
>He did, and Walter twisted in his seat to look at him. "What happened back there?"<br>"I took his mask off-"  
>"<em>Nobody <em>unmasks Yokai," Hiro explained.  
>"And he was gonna take care of us. We got out of it unharmed, though. <em>And <em>we got a nice little prize, too."  
>"Five hundred bucks!" Hiro grinned. "Right in that bag."<br>"I told you not to bet!" Walter scolded.  
>"<em>I <em>didn't, but I also won, and a lot of other people bet quite a bit," Toby said smugly. "Your robot was amazing, Happy."  
>"Yes it was," she nodded. "We got a good look at him and we have video proof that he's going to these bot fights."<br>"So what now? Can I go?" Hiro asked.  
>"Not yet, kid," Gallo said. "You have to stay with us until we bring Callaghan in for questioning. Plus, we're still trying to figure out what happened at the college the other night. We'll be bringing in Tadashi's friends tomorrow to question them, as well. But you did good, kid...both of you. We're one step closer to figuring out what's going on with this mess."<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

The tall blonde girl nearly tackled Hiro. He was still trying to figure out how the girl could run in her platform heels when she started cooing over him. "Oh, Hiro, I'm so sorry about what happened to Tadashi! It's just terrible! How are you holding up? Why are we here?"  
>"We're here so they can interrogate us. We're probably suspects or something." A shorter girl said, snapping her gum.<br>"That's partially correct. We're hoping you can point us in the direction of who started the fire at the expo hall. Suspected arson, if you didn't know," Gallo pointed out.

"Whoa. So we're helping a police investigation?" a skinny, dumpy-looking boy asked.  
>"Yes, Fred, you could say so," Paige answered him.<br>"Sweet!"  
>"Trevor, if you could come with me, we'll take you for questioning first." Gallo said, glancing down at a file in his hands.<br>"That's Wasabi," Fred pointed out. "His name's Wasabi."  
>"<em>Nickname<em>," the tall girl Hiro vaguely recognized as Honey Lemon pointed out. "Fred gives everyone nicknames."  
>Gallo rolled his eyes and turned to lead Trevor upstairs.<p>

"Do you know if Tadashi Hamada was in any, you know, dirty business?" Gallo asked. Toby turned a chair backwards to straddle, watching the interrogation. Trevor was definitely a potential suspect - he was jumpy and nervous.  
>"No, sir. He was a good kid - I mean, a really good kid. He respected everyone and his life mission was to help people." the tall, thick man picked at his fingernails.<br>"He didn't steal Professor Callaghan's designs for fighter bots so his brother could make them?"  
>"No, sir. Hiro's smart enough he wouldn't need designs, or so I was told. I don't really know his brother well." he started bouncing his knee at an incredibly fast rate.<br>"Okay," Toby broke in, brushing off the _look _Gallo gave him. "I just wanna clarify something. You're displaying extremely suspicious behavior, Trevor. Is something going on or do you have disorders? I'm gonna tell you straight-up that you look like you're a suspect, but I get the feeling you couldn't start a fire that had the potential of hurting someone."  
>Trevor shook his head, his eyes widening. "No, sir. No. I, well, I suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorders, acrophobia, and I don't like my schedule being messed with. This <em>definitely <em>messed with my schedule, and - well, you guys are cops! I'm not exactly comfortable."

Toby nodded, crossing his arms over the back of the chair. "Alright. It's typical for brighter people to have phobias and disorders such as what you've described. I'm guessing you had to be pretty smart to get into SFTI, right?"  
>"IQ of 137. Not quite genius level."<br>"Okay. One of the people on our team, Sylvester, has many tendencies and phobias, some of which you have too. Maybe you'd be able to talk to him after we're done here. Now, I've got all I need to see, so I'm going to see how Walt's doing with Fred."

"Fred, did you know Professor Callaghan on a personal level?" Walter asked. "Were you in any of his classes?"  
>Fred sat back in his chair, propping his sneakers on the table. "No, man. I didn't go to school at SFTI, I was just their mascot. Not that I'm complaining, that suit is <em>slick<em>!"  
>"Okay. Did you suspect Tadashi of ever doing something behind Callaghan's back?"<br>Fred wasn't paying attention. "Why is there a _rocket_ back there?"  
>"It's a project. Now-"<br>"Dude, that's the coolest thing I've ever seen! Does it work?"  
>"Fred, could you <em>please<em>-"  
>"And you've got an IQ of 197, right? Paige told me. What's it like to be insane-smart like that?"<br>Walt licked his lips impatiently, tapping his foot. "It's a ride. Did you ever suspect Tadashi of doing something behind Callaghan's back?"  
>"Him? No. Why? And could you help me figure out this video game I've been working at for awhile, I can't get past this level and I think you'd be able to-"<br>"Hiro has similar bots that Callaghan has invented, so we didn't know if he created it himself or not."  
>"That kid's supposed to be way smart, so he made them himself, I bet."<br>"Okay." Walter cleared his throat and saw Toby approaching.  
>"I'll just be here to watch your body language. I'm a psychologist," Toby said. "Continue."<br>"Whoa, so what if I do this?" Fred imitated an insanely odd expression of disgust. "What am I conveying?"  
>"Can you please just focus on our questions, please?" Walter asked, taking a deep breath to calm his impatience. "Do you know of anyone who may have wanted to burn the building?"<br>"No. Everyone loved it there-where's Wasabi? Is he done yet? I want to show him that rocket-"  
>"Gallo's still talking with him," Toby said. He leaned to whisper in Walter's ear, "The kid doesn't know anything. I'm going to see how Happy's doing with Cassie. Good luck."<br>"Yeah." Walter quirked a brow. "Thanks." "Anytime," Toby grinned sarcastically and left quickly.

GoGo Tomago - or Cassie, as was her actual name - was into her elbows with tools.  
>"...And you just have to do this and-" there was a loud clank, and Cassie pulled away from the car. "-and it's fixed."<br>"Impressive," Happy said, handing her a cloth. "Now, did you ever suspect anyone for wanting to burn down the expo hall at SFTI?"  
>Cassie shook her head, leaning up against the car and crossing her arms as she snapped gum. <em>Uh oh, first red flag: crossed arms, <em>Toby thought to himself. It meant she was cutting herself off from the conversation and not wanting to partake in it.  
>"So everyone liked the expo hall?" he broke in to ask.<br>"Sure. I guess." she shrugged again.  
>Toby nodded, watching her closely before volleying a series of embarrassing questions her way. Happy watched the encounter with mute contempt as he asked Cassie about any kind of uncomfortable thing he could think of.<br>"Why does this even pertain to the investigation?" Cassie asked, putting her hands on her hips and her face flame red.  
>"Seeing how you act normally versus how you act when you're embarrassed or standoffish. You were displaying signs of being closed off to the conversation, like you didn't want to be here and weren't comfortable with the questions, so I wanted to see what you'd do when you were seriously uncomfortable or embarrassed. Good job, kid." Toby nodded, and she glowered, snapping her gum in a vicious manner.<p>

As Toby left to see Paige and Honey Lemon - or Lucy - , Hiro came racing for him.  
>"Toby! Yo! I <em>have <em>to go to the bot fight tonight. Yokai might be there, and since I destroyed his bot, I _need _ to see something!"  
>"What is it, kid?"<br>"I don't know why I never thought of it before! It's so simple!"  
>"<em>What <em>is? I'm a psychologist, not a psychic."  
>"My microbots! What if Callaghan took my idea for the microbots and used the fire to cover up-"<br>Walter jogged over as he was speaking. "Callaghan may have been so jealous over Hiro's success with bot fighting that he stole the microbots that Hiro had at the expo so he could mass-produce them _and_ make fighter bots. He fell upon hard times recently; his wife passed away last year and his daughter disappeared two weeks before the expo. The college was going to let him go in a year because of some bigger and better teachers. He was on the botfight circuits because he needed a little extra money. When Hiro showed up-"  
>Hiro broke him off. "-When I showed up with my microbot invention, he realized he could replicate them to mass-produce and modify them for fighter-bots, like I did. He'd pass them off as his own and the college wouldn't have any choice except to keep him on!"<br>"Exactly, Hiro. And when he realized this, he set the expo hall on fire to create a diversion. People would be too scared and frantic, trying to escape, to even notice him stealing your microbots. They'd just think that he was trying to get them out of the hall."  
>"And when he was in there..." Hiro paled. "Maybe Tadashi went to try and save him."<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

"I thought you wouldn't show again, after getting your bot torn up last time," Yokai growled from behind his new mask.  
>Hiro shrugged. "I'm a kid genius. It's not like I couldn't rebuild it. And FYI? It rebuilt itself. By the way, see any microbots lying around lately? I lost a bunch before the fire."<br>They were in yet another alley, only this time, Hiro was accompanied by Happy. She'd been given the same bot Toby had used the botfight before, but Toby couldn't risk coming to another one for fear of being recognized.  
>"I wouldn't know what you're talking about, kid," Yokai said, punching buttons leisurely on his bot controller.<br>Hiro was baiting him, and when Yokai thought he had won the tournament, his bot rebuilt and turned, slashing viciously at his fighter bot. To Hiro's satisfaction, he watched as at least a hundred tiny microbots patchwork-rebuilt the bot.  
>"Umm..pretty sure you do know. Nice to know my design was good enough to steal! By the way, you didn't program them the right way. They needed modification, but not the changes you made-" Hiro paused when Yokai's flashing blue eyes met his, and he gulped. "Heh..anyway. Let's finish this off, shall we?"<br>"All's fair in love and war, even stealing," Yokai taunted. "You didn't copyright them anyway."  
>"And I could still report you for it because I have the blueprints," Hiro tossed back. With a vicious slice, he removed Yokai's robot's head from its body and watched as his own microbots bounced and died, the entire thing falling apart. "You really need to work on that, dude."<p>

"FBI! Don't move!"  
>The raspy yell rang out from none other than Cabe Gallo. He was followed by Walter, who had Hiro's microbot blueprint on hand.<br>The crowd scattered, except for Happy.  
>Only...that included Yokai as well. He took off running as fast as an older professor possibly <em>could<em>, and Cabe growled under his breath, throwing his hands up in disgust.  
>"Why do you-I said don't move, moron!" he yelled, he and Walter taking off after him. Hiro followed in pursuit, but Happy soon caught up and made him slow down.<br>"You don't need to get in the middle of this, kid - Gallo can catch him on his own. Your big brain doesn't need to get splattered across the pavement," she said bluntly.

Sure enough, Gallo caught him and practically dragged the handcuffed, angered geriatric back to the van, throwing him unceremoniously in the back. "I told you not to run."

Back at the Scorpion headquarters, the interrogation commenced. Yokai was less than willing, but with the help of Toby, they were able to crack him.  
>"Why did you take Hiro Hamada's microbot designs?" Walter asked.<br>He folded his arms over his chest and sat back in his chair. "Because I needed them."  
>"You have a job and a fourteen year old orphan used those to make a living," Gallo pointed out.<br>"I was about to lose my job."  
>"Right. And you weren't too happy with that, right?"<br>"Would you be? Those microbots might've given me half of a chance to keep my job."  
>"Did you light the fire in the expo hall?" Walter asked.<br>"Does it matter? I got caught anyway."  
>"Yes, it matters, Callaghan. I'm assuming you are guilty of starting the fire, seeing as you said you got caught."<br>"Caught taking the microbots. I didn't say I started the fire."  
>Toby cleared his throat. "You said 'I got caught <em>anyway<em>', implying that even with your best attempts, you got caught. I'm assuming you got caught by Tadashi Hamada, right?"  
>Callaghan snorted. "Yeah. Stupid kid needed to be less helpful. But it wasn't just Hiro's microbots I was after."<br>"What else were you after, then?" Walter asked.  
>"Baymax."<br>"What's that?" Gallo asked.  
>"Ask Hiro," Callaghan shrugged. "His brother invented it."<br>"Did you get away with it, too?"Walt asked.  
>"No. The beam fell across the pathway en route to Tadashi's lab and blocked my way. It's still in there, if it made it untouched."<br>Walter nodded, glancing at Gallo.  
>"I'll send Toby and Happy for it. And Hiro, I suppose," Gallo added, striding out of the room.<p>

"So why take Hiro's designs?" Walter asked. "Hiro and Tadashi's, rather."  
>"Kid's a genius, and his brother wasn't far off, either. Their inventions would've kept me at the college for a good while, if I passed 'em off as my own."<br>"All the kids at your college is smart. The lowest IQ there is 129. Any one of those kids could've provided inventions that would be lucrative."  
>"That's true," Callaghan admitted.<br>"So why the Hamada brothers?"  
>"When their parents died in a car crash, my first wife died as well, leaving just my daughter. I remarried, but it was never the same, and now both of them are gone. I wanted to make sure their lives were miserable for what they did."<br>"Your logic is so far off," Walter shook his head and licked his lips, amused. "Their lives were miserable from the time they were orphaned, both of them. They had to work hard to even just live in a house, and they both had to grow up really fast. That probably wasn't hard for Hiro, because he's already wise beyond his years, but Tadashi, it might've been harder on. Plus, you have the factors that Tadashi would remember his parents better than Hiro would, since he was older. They both experienced loss, and it wasn't remotely their fault that there was a car crash. I looked into the file, and your wife was drunk when she hit the car, meaning it's actually _your wife's _fault that the whole thing happened. Seeing as she was drunk and alone, I can only guess that she wasn't happy with her life, be it with her personal or professional life. Hiro and Tadashi weren't at fault; your wife was the one who was in the wrong lane and slammed into the Hamada car. Technically, there is no one left to lay blame upon and you really should have dropped it. Your grudge is pointless."

Callaghan slammed his palms down on the table, infuriated by Walter's pointed and emotionless response. "How dare you? It wasn't my wife's fault!" he snarled.  
>"Written reports and legitimate photographs don't lie," Walter shrugged. Maybe he had been a little too rough with his analysis - Paige probably would have reprimanded him, he realized - but he'd managed to crack him, exposing the vulnerable person beneath - which was exactly what they'd need to continue the interrogation later.<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews, follows, and favorites. **

Hiro rubbed his eyes drearily and tripped over a screwdriver. Callaghan had been taken away by the FBI last night, and he'd spent nearly the entire night playing video games with Ralph and Walter. This morning, Paige was waiting for him in the kitchen.

"Hey kiddo," she smiled sweetly at him and handed him a plate of healthy-looking food.

"What's this?" Hiro scrunched his nose up and asked.

"Breakfast, silly. I know you guys don't like to eat healthy, but as long as I'm feeding you, you're going to eat nutritious foods." She pulled out a seat for him and sat across from him, watching him devour it hungrily.

"Thanks," he finally said guiltily. "So I guess I'm going to be in the system officially today?"

"Not quite yet," she smiled mysteriously. "The team has a surprise for you." Listening to a car pull in, she added that the surprise had probably just arrived.

Hiro finished his breakfast and watched Paige suspiciously. When he was finished, he left his dishes on the table and padded down the stairs. The entire team was gathered, as well as a strange woman.

"Hiro, we did a DNA test and found you _do _have family. Someone, anyway. Meet your Aunt Cassandra Preston, your mother's sister." Walter stuck his hands in his pockets, waiting for the happy introduction so likely to happen between an emotional teenager and a middle aged woman.

"Where have you been the first fourteen years of my life?" He stared at her with an accusing glare.

"In San Fran, running my cafe. Hiro, your mother and I never got along, and she never let me come see you or your brother. She didn't allow attorneys to list me as a legal guardian, and I basically didn't exist until they found me a couple of days ago. I'm no mother, but I promise I'll try. You've been through too much."

"He's special," Toby told her. "Incredibly intelligent. You'll need to remember this and read up on genius kids. We're not like normal people."

"I already started," Cassandra finally broke into a nervous smile. "You can tell me if I'm doing something wrong, Hiro."

"Did you run a background check?" Hiro asked, still eyeing her suspiciously.

"Yes," Sylvester spoke up. "She's clean."

Walter pulled Hiro aside. "She's good. We wouldn't let you go to her if she wasn't. She really wants to try, kid, so let her. If you need a genius to talk to, I programmed our numbers into the phone we're giving you. You're a smart kid, and you also won the competition at SFTI. Don't let that big brain go to waste. Okay?"

"I won't," Hiro nodded and a look of terror and curiosity crossed his face as he turned back to Cassandra. "Do I have to call you Aunt Cassandra Preston?"

She finally laughed. "No. Call me Aunt Cass. C'mere, big hug!" She held her arms out, and Hiro suddenly ran into her arms, wrapping his scrawny arms around the unfamiliar woman. She smelt of pastries and there was a motherly warmth to the hug, satisfying a longing that Hiro had never known he had.

When the pair left, Paige walked up behind Walt and nudged him. "Good job. I'm glad he doesn't have to be in the system." She glanced towards Ralph, who was sleeping on the couch, a game controller still clutched in his small hand.

"We all are. She'll do her best to help him succeed."


End file.
